At last I have completed my talk on Sussex in Fiction. Of course there are many writers I have not included but I have a good mix of crime writers, historical writers and children’s writers. I nearly forgot Winnie the Pooh!

I only have one booking for this year so far and may have to go back onto twitter to let people know I am available.

Now I can start on the poetry anthology. I have about 15 poems, some of which have been on this blog and a friend has given me about ten more so I have been sorting them into sections. It’s funny how many we have both written about our gardens and nature. We had to buy a new bird feeder this week as the squirrel ( or a fox) had run off with the one that held the fat balls.

After sending a short story off to a website I started writing my next talk. This will be about Sussex in Fiction and I have chosen a few authors to give as examples of how the County is used as a background in a number of novels, notably those by Simon Brett and Peter James. I’m sure there are many others I have yet to discover but I have completed six pages so do not feel the holiday period has been wasted.

Instead of wasting time on twitter I am spending the rest of the day writing a new talk. Most local groups have now heard me speak on my life and works so I am creating a new talk on Sussex in Fiction. This gives me the opportunity to show the two different ways Sussex can be used in novels, either absolutely accurately, as in the books of Peter James, or as an inspiration as used by Simon Brett. The more I look into the writing of Sussex authors the more crime stories I find. Of course, there are also historical romances, like those of Pam Weaver. I have been buying books and taking some out of the library so that I can quote from each author. The most interesting part will be if the listeners can identify places that are not named in the books. It’s easy enough in my books when I don’t name the town but do say it has a pier, a hospital, a Leisure Centre and is near the Downs!